Cooking Oil For Your Car?

Special Report: Cooking Oil For Your Car?

This is where Andover native, Mike Parziale, goes to fight the high cost of fuel - behind a restaurant.

Mike Parziale, Truck runs on cooking oil
"After they use it, they'll dump it back here to dispose of it."

The manager has left him a container of used vegetable oil.

Mike Parziale, Truck runs on cooking oil
"This sock filter - all the junk, the food that's in there, it will filter all that out."

Mike's modified his diesel truck to run on the grease - and he fills up free of charge.

Mike Parziale, Truck runs on cooking oil
"Nobody believes it at first they're like, no, I would know about that if you can run a truck on vegetable oil."

Mike says he's traveled 32,000 miles on the waste oil -and crossed the country 4 times.

Mike Parziale, Truck runs on cooking oil
"I filled those up in Boulder, Colorado once and didn't have to stop until New Jersey for gas. It's free so can’t complain there."

One Massachusetts company is jumping on the vegetable oil wagon, and sells grease conversion kits for about $800.

Justin Carven, Founder, Greasecar.com
"We've sold over 500 of these kits all around the country. It's really started to pick up in the last year or so."

Regular gas engines can't be converted to run on vegetable oil, but most diesel cars and trucks can. The experts say the diesels run fine, once they're warmed up.

Mike Parziale, Truck runs on cooking oil
"It's one of those things - too good to be true."

Justin Carven, Founder, Greasecar.com
"This isn't going to be the technology that solves the world's energy problems, but this is definitely something that can make an impact."

Many who run these vehicles say it's not for everyone. But if you enjoy scrounging behind restaurants in a quest for free fuel-